Hawksbill sea turtle
Eretmochelys imbricata
Sighting evidence at La Buse Reef, Sainte-Marie Island
Photo: Kevin Bryant · CC BY-NC-SA
Hawksbill turtles are the specialist sponge feeders of the sea turtle world, with a narrow pointed beak evolved to extract sponges from reef crevices. They are Critically Endangered globally but resident on the intact reef sections around Sainte-Marie where sponge biomass is high. Their foraging behaviour is one of the key mechanisms that prevents sponges from outcompeting corals on healthy Caribbean and Indo-Pacific reefs.
Evidence at this site
No confirmed records on file at this site
Hawksbill sea turtle is listed as a curated species here based on historical reports.